Air India Boeing 787 Crashes After Takeoff, With 242 People Onboard

It’s a tragic day for aviation, as an Air India Boeing 787 has just crashed, representing the first-ever crash for the Dreamliner, since it first entered service nearly 15 years ago.

Air India Ahmedabad to London flight crashes after takeoff

This incident happened today (June 12, 2025), and involves Air India flight AI171, scheduled to operate the 4,262-mile flight from Ahmedabad (AMD) to London Gatwick (LGW). The flight was operated by an 11-year-old Boeing 787-8 with the registration cote VT-ANB.

According to India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the jet crashed immediately after takeoff, with 242 people on board, including two pilots and 10 flight attendants. We know that there were at least 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian national. This particular 787-8 had 256 seats, including 18 business class seats and 238 economy class seats, so the flight was roughly 90% full.

The aircraft took off at 1:39PM local time, from runway 23. The pilots gave a “mayday” call after takeoff to air traffic control, but there was no response after that. Flight tracking data suggests that the plane’s last signal was transmitted less than a minute after takeoff, as the plane climbed through 625 feet.

The aircraft crashed just outside the airport perimeter, into the housing at a medical college. In video footage posted online, heavy black smoke can be seen coming from the accident sites. The exact number of casualties isn’t yet known, though unfortunately we know there were a substantial number of deaths both among those onboard, as well as among those on the ground. Rescue efforts continue to be underway.

Video footage of the plane just after takeoff has already been released, and shows the plane struggling to gain altitude. You’ll notice that the gear is fully deployed, when ordinarily that would start to be retracted once there’s a positive rate of climb, though that clearly wasn’t the case here.

We’ll have to wait for a full investigation to determine the cause of this tragedy. Was there a mechanical issue with the plane or engines, were takeoff weights not calculated correctly, was the plane not properly configured for takeoff, was there a double engine failure, or something else? Obviously there are an endless number of potential explanations, and it’s too early to speculate as to what the cause was.

Information about the pilots has already been released, and the captain had 8,200 flight hours, while the first officer had 1,100 flight hours. So the captain was at least quite experienced.

Obviously this is a horrible tragedy, and my thoughts and prayers are for all those onboard and their families, as well as those on the ground at the accident site. I’m hoping for as good of an outcome as possible. I’ll be sure to update this post with more details, as they’re made available.

This is the first hull loss for a Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Aviation is incredibly safe, and it’s extremely rare to see fatal accidents. India has had a fantastic safety record in recent years, despite the pace at which aviation in the country has grown (meaning the aviation workforce in the country is largely quite “junior”).

Notably, this is the first-ever hull loss for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, since it entered commercial service in 2011. For that matter, up until today, the plane had no fatal accident of any sort. This is also the first wide body passenger jet crash that we’ve seen in many years.

There are currently over 1,100 787s in service, and Air India has a total of 26 787-8s (along with seven of the larger 787-9 variant, acquired through Vistara).

Bottom line

An Air India Boeing 787 has crashed today, with 242 people onboard. The plane was flying from Ahmedabad to London, and crashed just moments after takeoff, as it seemingly struggled to gain altitude.

What a massive tragedy, and sad day for aviation. This is the first-ever hull loss for the 787, and the first wide body passenger jet crash in many years. My thoughts are with everyone involved. It’s just heart-wrenching, and I hope the rescue efforts prove successful.

What do you make of this Air India Boeing 787 crash?